Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 55,230,000 shares, a drop of 11.7% from the October 31st total of 62,560,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 19,960,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.8 days. Approximately 2.3% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alibaba Group

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Concord Wealth Partners boosted its holdings in Alibaba Group by 155.0% in the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 255 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in Alibaba Group in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Alibaba Group in the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. First Command Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in Alibaba Group in the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Finally, GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC boosted its holdings in Alibaba Group by 139.3% in the 2nd quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 359 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 209 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

Alibaba Group Stock Performance

Shares of BABA stock traded up $0.78 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $87.37. 7,553,510 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,511,165. Alibaba Group has a 12 month low of $66.63 and a 12 month high of $117.82. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $98.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $86.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $209.05 billion, a PE ratio of 17.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 0.35.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 15th. The specialty retailer reported $15.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $13.19. Alibaba Group had a net margin of 8.98% and a return on equity of 12.28%. The firm had revenue of $236.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $239.45 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.82 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Alibaba Group will post 8.44 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on BABA. Loop Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Alibaba Group in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $92.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 16th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Alibaba Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alibaba Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $114.07.

Alibaba Group Company Profile

Alibaba Group Holding Limited, through its subsidiaries, provides technology infrastructure and marketing reach to help merchants, brands, retailers, and other businesses to engage with their users and customers in the People's Republic of China and internationally. The company operates through seven segments: China Commerce, International Commerce, Local Consumer Services, Cainiao, Cloud, Digital Media and Entertainment, and Innovation Initiatives and Others.